qubes-doc/user/how-to-guides/how-to-reinstall-a-template.rst

===========================
How to reinstall a template
===========================


If you suspect your :doc:`template </user/templates/templates>` is broken,
misconfigured, or compromised, you can reinstall any template that was
installed from the Qubes repository.

Automatic Method
----------------


First, copy any files that you wish to keep from the template’s
``/home`` and ``/rw`` folders to a safe storage location. Then, in a
dom0 terminal, run:

.. code:: bash

      $ sudo qubes-dom0-update --action=reinstall qubes-template-package-name



Replace ``qubes-template-package-name`` with the name of the *package*
of the template you wish to reinstall. For example, use
``qubes-template-fedora-25`` if you wish to reinstall the ``fedora-25``
template. Only one template can be reinstalled at a time.

Note that Qubes may initially refuse to perform the reinstall if the
exact revision of the template package on your system is no longer in
the Qubes online repository. In this case, you can specify ``upgrade``
as the action instead and the newer version will be used. The other
``dnf`` package actions that are supported in addition to ``reinstall``
and ``upgrade`` are ``upgrade-to`` and ``downgrade``. Note that the
``upgrade``, ``upgrade-to``, and ``downgrade`` commands are only
supported under Fedora based UpdateVMs. If you receive a message about
them being unsupported, review the manual reinstallation method below.

**Reminder:** If you’re trying to reinstall a template that is not in an
enabled repo, you must enable that repo. For example:

.. code:: bash

      $ sudo qubes-dom0-update --enablerepo=qubes-templates-community --action=reinstall qubes-template-whonix-ws



**Note:** VMs that are using the reinstalled template will not be
affected until they are restarted.

Manual Method
-------------


In what follows, the term “target template” refers to whichever template
you want to reinstall. If you want to reinstall more than one template,
repeat these instructions for each one.

1. Clone the existing target template.
   This can be a good idea if you’ve customized the existing template
   and want to keep your customizations. On the other hand, if you
   suspect that this template is broken, misconfigured, or compromised,
   be certain you do not start any VMs using it in the below procedure.

2. Temporarily change all VMs based on the target template to the new
   clone template, or remove them.
   This can be a good idea if you have user data in these VMs that you
   want to keep. On the other hand, if you suspect that these VMs (or
   the templates on which they are based) are broken, misconfigured, or
   compromised, you may want to remove them instead. You can do this in
   Qubes Manager by right-clicking on the VM and clicking **Remove VM**,
   or you can use the command ``qvm-remove <vm-name>`` in dom0.

3. Uninstall the target template from dom0:

   .. code:: bash

         $ sudo dnf remove <template-package-name>


   For example, to uninstall the ``whonix-gw`` template:

   .. code:: bash

         $ sudo dnf remove qubes-template-whonix-gw



4. Reinstall the target template in dom0:

   .. code:: bash

         $ sudo qubes-dom0-update --enablerepo=<optional-additional-repo> \
            <template-package-name>

   For example, to install the ``whonix-gw`` template:

   .. code:: bash

         $ sudo qubes-dom0-update --enablerepo=qubes-templates-community \
            qubes-template-whonix-gw


5. If you temporarily changed all VMs based on the target template to
   the clone template in step 3, change them back to the new target
   template now. If you instead removed all VMs based on the old target
   template, you can recreate your desired VMs from the newly
   reinstalled target template now.

6. Delete the cloned template. You can do this in Qubes Manager by
   right-clicking on the VM and clicking **Remove VM**, or you can use
   the command ``qvm-remove <vm-name>`` in dom0.